UNITED NATIONS: Yemen’s Houthi group has agreed to a temporary truce to allow rescue operations for the Greek-flagged crude oil tanker Sounion in the Red Sea.
The tanker, damaged by multiple projectiles near Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah, has been burning and leaking oil since last week.
According to Iran’s mission to the UN, several countries appealed to the Houthis, requesting a truce to facilitate tugboats and rescue ships to access the incident area. The Houthis, citing humanitarian and environmental concerns, consented to the request.
However, Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam clarified there is no formal truce; the group merely agreed to allow towing of the Sounion after multiple international appeals.
The Houthis, who control much of Yemen, have targeted ships in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians amid the Israel-Hamas conflict. The Pentagon reported that a third party attempted to send tugboats to assist the Sounion, but the Houthis threatened to attack them.
Iran’s UN mission criticized other countries for failing to provide aid and prevent an oil spill, attributing the delay to their negligence rather than concerns about potential attacks.
